Brooke's Poem- from her Aunt Clara

HEAVEN’S VERY SPECIAL CHILD

A meeting was held quite far from Earth.
It was time again for another birth.
Said the Angels to the Lord above-
“This special child will need much love.”
“Her progress may be very slow,
Accomplishment she may not show.”
“And she’ll require extra care-
From the folks she meets down there.”
“She may not run or laugh or play,
Her thoughts may seem quite far away.”
“So many times she will be labeled
‘Different,’ helpless’ and disabled.”
“So let’s be careful where she’s sent."
"We want her life to be content.”
“Please, Lord, find the parents who
Will do a special job for you.”
“They will not realize right away
The leading role they are asked to play.”
“But with this child sent from above
Comes stronger faith, and richer love.”
“And soon they’ll know the privilege given
In caring for their gift from heaven.’
“Their precious charge, so meek and mild
Is heaven’s very special child.”


Brooke lovin on mom- Thanksgiving 2009

It's Christmas Time!

Deck the Halls! Joy to the World!

Thoughts of Thanksgiving

My heart is so full as I sit and ponder the bounty of love, joy and blessings unmeasured in my life. I have had such a wondrous relationship with my Heavenly Father. Even in the times when my life path detoured from the straight and narrow..... even in the times when I thought I was all alone.... even in the times when sorrow, fear, anger, despair seemed to be all consuming. And most especially in times of joy and celebration. From the time I was a young child, I have been in constant "conversation" with Heavenly Father... asking, seeking, sharing, and giving thanks.

During this time of Thanksgiving I am reminded of all that is good and right and well in my life and in the lives of those I love. In spite of the struggles we all face, His love and assurance is all around us. We only have to open our hearts- we only have to drink from the well- and we will know He is here.

To all our children, grandchildren, siblings, parents, friends, neighbors, brothers and sisters in the gospel- thank you for all you bring to my life and into the life of my sweetheart. To those who care for my special daughter, Brooke Anne- thank you and may God bless you. To all who have touched my life- past, present and in the future- thank you from my heart.

And most of all- I thank my Father in Heaven- for with Him, "nothing is impossible" if we just reach and take his hand.

Happy Thanksgiving with Love!

October- Fun- Spooky- Yummy- And All That Jazz!

A month you might call a mixed bag of blessings and experiences.
FIRST- I came down with my annual "Fall cold"- ugh! It never fails, every year it comes like clockwork. Maybe next year I'll skip it ('course I say that every year!). My mom was in the hospital again and since I had a cold I couldn't go see her. She is still really struggling with learning to cope with her Crohn's. Right now she is staying with my sister Liana in Pocatello. Hopefully a little TLC will get her back on her feet.

THEN- one of the girls (Kristen) that lives in the same group home as Brooke was hospitalized! She had a grand mal seizure that dislocated her shoulder and broke her jaw, caused a blood clot, and some bleeding in her brain... poor thing. They thought for a few days she might have meningitis-but thankfully it wasn't that. She has all these complications-all due to the seizure- but for now she is home and doing better.

THEN- on a brighter note- I got together with 2 of my sisters. We have been trying to have a sisters' day/evening out for the last few years and it is a blast! We have kind of made it a tradition to go to Red Lobster in Pocatello. As you can see- we may be getting older, but we still know how to have a good time. I love my sisters so much- life is certainly full when you have family to share it with-yes?



Liana is just 15 months older than me and Brenda is a little older :)- but we have always been very close. Growing up we loved, fought, protected, and did everything together.

THEN- the really fun part! I went to my mother-in-law's (Great Gramma Witt) for Halloween. I go each year to help her hand out candy and the bonus for me is getting to see some of my grandkids dressed up! Out of 26 grandkids, I got to see 14- not perfect- but certainly not bad. I dressed up as a witch and it was so fun to see their little faces as they each came to the door. It ranged from surprise- a little fear- and a lot of laughter! I tried to keep a witchy grimace and laugh with all of them.... here are a few pics.

First of all- Heather- she dresses up too. (hmmm-think she got that from her mother?)

Heather (purple witchy-woman- ha ha) and Molly dressed up as Thumbelina (NeeNa)

Maddy is Snow White, Mailei is a cowgirl (she has on some high boots that don't show in this picture) and Mikey is a robot. Too bad this picture doesn't show his hands very well- they all looked awesome!

Along came a little cowboy (Woody) named Nash!

Blake is dressed up as a Ninja! Carter (handsome little guy) is Zorro and Haedon is a dinosaur.

Sam (Werewolf), Aaron (Count Dracula), Ben (Mummy) and Jacob (Scarecrow)! Their mom makes their costumes! Aren't they amazing? Sam was so funny- he told me he was going to go home and "rip his sideburns off like a man!"- Then his mom told him all he had to do was shower and the hair would melt off (it was "glued" on with karo syrup!)

Last (but not least) visitors for the night were Tanner (a dragon) and Ty (a leopard)- Tanner had one of the best reactions to Gramma Witchy! His little eyes nearly popped out of his face- then he just smiled and nodded- like- oh it's just Gramma!

I told the grown up kids I was either a witch or the epitome of the "wicked step-mother"! Cackle cackle! I LOVE HALLOWEEN! So from this crazy old witch to whoever reads here- Hope yours was fun and can't wait for next year!

September-A Month Of Marvelous Moments & Memories!

Wow- so much time has passed since my last post- and so many wonderful moments and memories have been collected and added to my book of life's experiences! Here are just a few--
We started out September with my Grandma Clark's 100th birthday! She's an amazing, woman who has been my hero and my example all my life. It was a fun celebration! We got to see many cousins and friends that we haven't seen in years. And for the first time in a long time, all of my siblings were together! All seven of us! So I have a beautiful picture of my parents, my grandmother and my siblings.







Then a week later, Brady came to visit. It's always a blast when he comes home for a visit. His nieces and nephews just adore him- well we all do! He is so much fun. My favorite picture of this visit is the picture of him wearing Maddy's little fairy wings and "leaping" in the air for the kids. We all love him so much and are so grateful for him. I remember when he was just a toddler realizing he was sent here to bring us laughter- fun- joy- and he is certainly fulfilling that role! Now he is trying to get moved back to Idaho- we are all so excited! Can't wait!!!

Of course- we had several birthdays this month besides Grandma Clark! This Gramma got to deliver fun presents for all these kids! Molly turned 2; Kyriahna turned 10; AJ (Aaron)turned 3; and Carter turned 6! And because I wasn't going to be traveling again for a while- I added in the October birthdays just for fun! Taron turned 4; Jolanna turns 9 tomorrow; and Sam turns 11 on the 25th! These are just the grandkids-there were other grownup birthdays too!
We ended the month with a visit from Jim's Uncle Rudy & Aunt Laverne. They come to Pocatello once a year from South Dakota. Uncle Rudy was like a second father to Jim and his brothers growing up in South Dakota... hunting, fishing, camping, boating... along with their mom and dad. Jim loves his uncle so much. It is a great privelege for me to get to know him and his wife. They are beautiful people!

So- all in all- September was truly a month of marvelous moments and memories! It is a blessing to be able to connect and share our lives with those we love. It is a blessing to have these people in our lives- whether we see them all the time or just once a year or even longer- these are the experiences and the people that make us who we are. Heavenly Father has blessed us with the capacity to know and love as many people as we ourselves allow into our hearts.. that blessing, that capacity is endless and as eternal as He and His love. I am grateful for my friends, family and for a Heavenly Father who knows my heart and my needs and grants me all that He knows I need.... Posted with love and gratitude!

Family Reunion and Bear Lake

We just had our bi-annual Toomer Reunion in Paris, Idaho! (Sat. 8/22) It was so much fun. Here is a picture of my daddy (in the Superdad t-shirt) and his siblings. Sometimes when I think of how old we all are getting I get a bit sad-but there is so much love and joy in our family it's hard to stay that way. My Aunt Cheryl-back left in the purple-is insanely fun! She lives in California but always seems to make it back to Idaho for these reunions. Then there's my Aunt Janene- the oldest of my dad's siblings and the bossiest! (hee hee) Seriously-she keeps the family together and organized and we love her to pieces! My Aunt Eulita is from Texas and we don't get to see her at every reunion so it's a special treat when she does make it. Then on the front is my dad (he is awesome)- my Uncle Jack and my Uncle Roger. Uncle Jack and his wife Aunt Norma have had a lot of health problems but they still made it and I'm so glad. I used to stay with them when I was growing up- they were so good to me and I loved being with them and my cousin Pearl Ann. Last of all is the baby of the family- Uncle Roger- he was one of my heroes when I was a kid. I remember when I was in grade school and he was on the high school football team. I'd take my friends to see him at practice and sometimes he'd let me hold his glasses... wow- did I feel so cool?!??! :)

After the reunion, a bunch of us went to Bear Lake for the rest of the day. I was in HEAVEN! Growing up in Montpelier, we would spend our summer weekends alternating between camping and going to the Lake. I've only been a few times as an adult and I have sorely missed it! I am so glad we went! I think my kids and I will be making it a tradition to go at least once a year! Heather and her kids and Donnie & Katie and their kids had a blast too! I wish I could post ALL the pictures- but it would take pages! So here are just a few to kind of give you a feel for the Lake. It is one of the most beautiful places in Idaho. You can wade out in the water it seems like forever before it gets at all deep, so it's especially good for the kids. The water is fairly warm too (at least mid to late summer) and the beach is terrific.

This is Molly and Nash- these two little cousins love to hang out together. I just had to show them off. Heather forgot to bring Molly's suit so she got to swim in the bloomers to her sundress outfit- she didn't care- she just loved the water.

I told the kids the story of the Bear Lake Monster and it was pretty funny. At first Mailei got a little scared so we assured her it was just a story--then she kept coming to me and telling me she was sure she saw the monster out in the deep water. I told her how I used to get up early in the morning during the summer and sit outside on our porch and listen for the Bear Lake Monster.... in my little girl mind, the morning whistle at the train station was the monster waking up and I just knew some morning I would see her taking a walk through the park across the street from our house. 'Course it helped that I had this wonderful daddy who told us all kinds of stories... like the haunted shack on the way to the lake- or that Bloomington (Bloomertown) was named that because ladies hung their bloomers out on the line to dry and everyone could see them when they drove through.... he had a story for every where we went-camping, swimming- wherever....
Anyway- it was a wonderful weekend. The only sad thing for me was that Jim was not able to be there too. We're really hoping that we can get ALL our kids out to the lake sometime... what a great family party that will be.... Jim and I and our kids and our 27 grandkids! Look Out Bear Lake- here we come!

Anniversary-Sharing of Love and Moments

Yesterday was Jim and my 8th anniversary! We have been together for such a short time of our lives, yet it seems we have known each other forever. I do believe our spirits have been connected for a very long time-perhaps long before we actually met . I believe some guardian angel brought us together-knowing we could fill each other's hearts and lives.

Anyway- How did we celebrate? Well- this sweet man took me and my (our) daughter Brooke Anne out to dinner! We pretty much share all our holidays with Brooke, and at least for the past 3 years, it has been a tradition to take her out with us to celebrate our anniversary.

Although some may think it is odd that we don't go out by ourselves, it seems particularly fitting-completely right for us to do this. Brooke connected, bonded with Jim right from the start. He was very patient and let her get to know him in her own way and time. I remember we were at Chicago Connection (one of her favorite restaurants) and at first she was a little shy, but within minutes she reached across the table and patted his hand and from that moment on she has trusted him and grown to love him very much.

Being autistic, Brooke is rather selective about whom she bonds with. I have been very blessed - she has been very blessed- to have Jim as the man in our lives. She loves her "Ji-Ji" as she calls him and so do I! He has been there to help with her and to spend time with her and has even filled in for me when I couldn't make a doctor or dentist appointment. He has picked her up and taken her back to the home she lives in on his own and when we've had her home with us he spends time with her, he takes her out for walks, and he genuinely enjoys her as I do!

So today and yesterday- as I reflected on our anniversary- I was filled with much gratitude for all Jim is and all he does- and especially for his loving acceptance of Brooke Anne. I have never for a moment felt anything but his love for her and for me! And although she may not be able to verbalize it- I know that Brooke Anne feels the same.

I love you my darling husband- and I thank you! Posted from my heart to his!